


A dragon and Leonard Cohen

by Castilian



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 14:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13125315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castilian/pseuds/Castilian
Summary: Arthur has to spend Christmas alone while his father works. But maybe it does not end as bad as Arthur thought.





	A dragon and Leonard Cohen

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Christmas!

A constant sound of voices and steps came from the halls. Most students were leaving that day; although some had left the day before and still there would be a few that would be leaving the next also. Arthur used to be one of the firsts to go. But not this year.

This year, his father was having very important meetings in some place where no one gave a damn about Christmas. If that place existed. “You’re not a child, Arthur,” had said his father. “We’ll celebrate when I return.”

Someone knocked the door.

“Hey Arthur, we just wanted to say goodbye and happy Christmas!” the girls’ next door waved happily at him. “Are you staying?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, have a good time then.”

Arthur waved but the girls were already hurrying down the corridor. 

Most flats in the building where occupied by students like himself. Arthur would probably be all by himself the following days. He could have gone home and wait there for his father but had rejected the idea. Somehow, being alone at home seemed worse than being in his flat. With a forgotten sports magazine in his lap, he tried not to feel too depressed. He was not having much success.

At least his father had sent him presents. Arthur had received them the day before but had not opened them. He would do it on Christmas, even when no one but himself was there to care about it. 

And with his father’s gifts was the one he had bought for his flatmate Merlin weeks ago. The one he had not dared to give to Merlin. Arthur had planned to give it to Merlin that very morning, just before the other boy was leaving for his home. But at the last minute, Arthur had chickened out.

Arthur remained in the same position for hours. Only when the flat was in almost darkness, he rose up. Without turning the lights on, he went to his room. Arthur had been living there just for some months, but he already knew the place like the back of his hand.

Arthur flopped down on the bed and something moved by his side. Startled, he switched on the lamp on his bedside. There was a packet there. One that he had not left.

It was a gift, wrapped in a paper with reindeers dancing, with a little note on top. “To open at Christmas,” it said. And it was not signed.

“As if I didn’t recognize your handwriting, Merlin,” said Arthur aloud, just for the sake of hearing something. 

Arthur held the packet in his hands and thought about the one hidden in his cupboard. If only he would have given it to Merlin before his flatmate had left. Now it would seem as if Arthur had bought just out of obligation. But now it could not be helped.

“If you weren’t such a coward,” said Arthur with a self-deprecating laugh.

 

Arthur woke up at the same hour than usual. It was weird having the flat all by him, not having to be listening to Merlin’s incessant chatter, his constant traipsing or his varied collection of noises. He missed all of that. 

The next days were worse than Arthur had anticipated. They were impossibly long and uneventful. Arthur barely knew how to fill them. He even resorted to studying. And he wondered how he would survive until the 26th without dying of boredom. 

Going for a walk was soon out of the question. Not counting the annoying hordes of people going everywhere, the ever-present buzz of carols and cheery _happy Christmas!_ , it was incredibly cold.

“At least it could snow,” thought Arthur malevolently, as he imagined some of those happy people falling on the pavement. It was a very _unchristmasy_ thought, and Arthur returned home.

 

By Christmas’ Eve Arthur was seriously considering going home, as his father as suggested. He had never been so long without interacting with another human being. Though his father had called him daily, and Arthur had phoned some his friends too, it was not the same.

As Arthur was searching for a train to go home, a terrible scream echoed in the corridors. “This is when the stupid guy who goes to investigate, is killed in terror films,” thought Arthur as he went out of his flat to see.

Arthur stared at the sight that greeted him. There were two men carrying a Christmas tree up the stairs. The tree must have fallen because there were branches all over the landing. Someone was on the steps above, but they did not seem to be making much progress. 

“Do you need some help?”

“Sure.”

Arthur knew one of the men. He had seen Merlin talking with him sometimes. He and his wife lived on the floor above them. Arthur did not know their names. He could not recall having talked to neither of them before.

“I’m Lance, this is Elyan, and that lovely woman is my wife Gwen,” Arthur clapped a hand with the two men and waved at Gwen, who had been the one directing from above.

“Arthur.”

“Yeah, you’re Merlin’s friend, do you?”

“Um, yeah. We lived together. Well, in the same flat, that is,” said Arthur awkwardly. 

“Come Arthur,” called Gwen, “help me with the top.”

It took them much pushing, dragging and sweating, but finally, they managed to bring the tree to Lance and Gwen’s dining room. And Arthur found himself drinking tea and eating homemade biscuits with three strangers. Or maybe they were not strangers anymore, considering how friendly all of them were.

Arthur learned that Gwen and Lance had been married for two years already. He did not dare to ask, but they could not be much older than him. Elyan was Gwen’s brother, and he had gone to spend the holidays with them.

“And we are expecting my father to arrive this evening,” was saying Gwen, as the rest were eating. “He runs a hardware store, and wanted to open on Christmas Eve, but I managed to convince him not to. Who works on Christmas Eve?”

“That’s nice,” said Arthur, although he was thinking _yes, who does_.

 

Christmas Eve came and went. Arthur refused to accompany Gwen and her family at dinner; it seemed too personal for him. But she had managed to convince him to play board games after dinner. 

“Thanks for having me.”

“Oh, it was our pleasure, wasn’t it?” answered Gwen and Lance nodded at her side.

They certainly had enjoyed themselves. And Gwen was so warm and kind that it was impossible not to feel welcomed. 

One more day to go and Christmas would be over.

 

As a child Arthur was always so impatient to open all the gifts he received at Christmas. His father made him pose for a photo in front of the tree with everything still wrapped up, and that only added to Arthur restlessness. 

That morning Arthur remained in bed long after he had wakened up. His gifts were still in the cupboard. Merlin had put a tree in the living room, and he had spent the day before leaving decorating it. But Arthur had not bothered to put the gifts under the tree. He thought it ridiculous, considering that he was alone.

Finally, nature called and Arthur was forced to leave the bed. Now that he was up there was no reason not to open the packets.

His father had sent him practical things, as usual: new clothes, a perfume and a pair of cufflinks. Arthur could blame the man for many things, but he really knew his son tastes.

That just left Merlin’s small and rectangular packet: _Selected Poems_ , by Leonard Cohen. Wasn’t he a musician, thought Arthur.

It was not that Arthur didn’t read, because he did. When he had to. But not poetry. Never poetry. 

Of course, Merlin was not obliged to buy him anything. And they had known each other for over three months. And it’s the thought that counts, so Arthur should be grateful. And he really was. But maybe he had thought that, by then, Merlin would have known what Arthur liked. 

In the afternoon Arthur got a call from his father. Yes, he had liked his presents, and no, he didn’t mind if Uther would be coming on the 27th instead of the 26th. What difference would it make?

“Arthur! Are you home?”

“What? But, you…,” Arthur stared, at a loss for words.

“Surprise! And happy Christmas!” 

Dropping his bags in the middle of the living room, Merlin went to embrace Arthur, who was too much in shock to react.

“How have you been?” Merlin went on, as cheerful as always. 

“Good, good,” said Arthur, still not believing his eyes. “But, why are you here, so early?”

“Well, you see. My mother lectured me for not inviting you, once she knew your family would be abroad. And I felt a little guilty...”

“You didn’t have to. You should have stayed with your mother and friends.”

“Oh, well. It’s just for a couple of days, you know. Our neighbors’ daughter is going home for New Year’s, and I’m going with her. But I wanted to see if you were alright,” added Merlin with a smile, and Arthur returned it with one of his own. “Did you see my present?” asked Merlin, eagerly. 

“Ah, yes, thank you,” was saying Arthur, when he remembered. “Wait a minute,” Arthur bolted to his room and returned with a box in his hands. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to wrap it,” but Merlin had already grabbed it. “I know it’s not like the one you had.”

“Arthur”, interrupted Merlin, who was close to tears, “How?”

“I saw it online and thought that you might like it.”

The truth was that Arthur had spent countless hours searching for it: a little dragon figurine. It was similar to the one Merlin remembered from his childhood. He was sure it had belonged to his father, though he never knew the man. 

Merlin sat heavily on the couch, his eyes never leaving the dragon. 

“Thank you. It’s amazing, Arthur,” said Merlin as Arthur sat by his side. “Really, I think I cannot thank you enough.” Arthur just shrugged, not knowing what to say. “Oh, you were reading your book,” Merlin picked up the book. “Did you like it?”

“Sure. It’s a… nice one.” Arthur stared at Merlin when he raised his eyebrow.

“Nice. You have no idea, do you?” Arthur opened his mouth but said nothing. “Here, let me see.” Merlin leafed through the book and smiled when he found what he was looking for. “Read.”

Arthur read and then came to a stop. He looked at Merlin, who was grinning at him, and turned again to the book.

“Merlin,” Arthur sounded out of breath, as if he had been running, “this verse here, this is what my mother wrote at the photograph.” Arthur read it again. “How did you know?”

“How did I know? How can you not know? Arthur, it’s one of the most famous lines of Leonard Cohen: _There Is a Crack in Everything, That's How the Light Gets In_. Everybody knows it.”

“Well, I don’t listen to Leonard Cohen, or read his books or whatever.” Replied Arthur frowning and Merlin laughed. 

Then Arthur noticed Merlin’s bags in the middle of the dining room, looked at his book and the dragon figurine still in Merlin’s hands. He didn’t stop to think about it. 

It was probably the worst first kiss in history. The angle was all wrong, their noses bumped together and there were too much saliva.

The second one was much better. But they had to break apart too soon to find a more comfortable position.

They started to get the hang of it by the third. 

After that, they just lost count. 

Maybe, thought Arthur as he felt Merlin’s weight on him, his father’s trip had not been such a bad thing. His father probably would have a different idea. But, who cared?


End file.
